Use your mouse
pointer to touch a date on the
calendar to the left and see which Famous
Canadian Woman has a
birthday on that date.

August
1

Helen
Sawyer Hogg-Priestley.née Sawyer. Born August
1, 1905 Lowel, Massachusetts, U.S.A. Died January 28. 1993
Richmond Hill, Ontario. She earned an undergraduate degree in Astronomy in
1926 at Mount Holyoke and took a position at the Harvard Observatory earning
her master degree in 1928. Since Harvard University did not grant PhD's to
women at this time she attended Radcliff University, Cambridge,
Massachusetts, U.S.A. to earn her doctorate degree in 1931. In 1930 she
married Dr. Frank Scott Hogg (d1951) and the couple had 3 children. In 1935
the family relocated to Toronto, Ontario where she worked at the beginning
as a volunteer and then as a research assistant at the University of
Toronto. A world expert who would receive
numerous honours including being a Companion in the Order of Canada, she
took her profession to radio and TV in a clear and understandable manner for
all listeners. She wrote a book, The Stars Belong to Everyone and a
weekly column in theToronto
Star newspaper from 1951-1981 called 'With the Stars'. She served as the
1st woman president of several astronomic organizations. In 1976 she
became a professor emeritus at the University of Toronto. She worked outside
of the U of T in 1940-41 when she was acting Chairman of the Astronomy
Department at Mount Holyoke College and again from 1955-1956 when she spent
an academic year as Program Director for Astronomy at the National Science
Foundation in Washington, DC, U.S.A. In 1983 she became the 1st
Canadian to be awarded the Klumpke-Roberts Award and the 1st Canadian women
to have a Minor Planet (N0. 2917) named Sawyer-Hogg in her honour. .In 1985
she married fellow Toronto Professor F.E.L. Priestley (d 1988).

Anne
Hébert.Born August 1, 1916 Sainte-Catherine-de-Fossambault, Quebec. Died
January 22, 2000. A
poet, playwright, and novelist worked on Radio – Canada broadcasts and also wrote
scripts for the National Film Board. She has written books of prose and some of
her novels have been made into films. She writes in her native French but most
of her works have been translated into English.She has been awarded the Molson Prize in 1967 and elected to the Royal
Society of Canada.

August
2

Marie-Anne
Lagemodiére.
Born August 2, 1780 Maskinongé, Quebec. Died December 14, 1875. Marie-Anne traveled with her fur trading husband and in
1806 was one of the first white women to visit such outposts as Red River and
Fort Edmonton. Her daughter, Reine, was the first legitimate white child to be
born in the Canadian west in 1807. Marie-Anne was also the grandmother of Louis
Riel.

Valerie Jean Knowles.Born August 2, 1934 Montreal, Quebec. She
completed degrees from Smith College, McGill University in Montreal
and Carleton University in Ottawa. This former history teacher and,
now, free lance writer who has been successful in writing for
newspapers, magazines and federal government departments. She has
authored some 9 books. She uses her historical studies and archives
background to develop her contribution to historical writings of
Canada. Her book, Strangers at Our Gates, currently in
another edition, provides the only writing to give a complete
overview of the history of Canadian immigration. She has
established herself as a biographer of note with her works on
Cairine Wilson, Canada's 1st woman in the senate, the
award winning book Telegrapher to Titan the life of William C.
Van Horne published in 2004, and collections of profiles of famous and
obscure figures of Ottawa in Capital Lives which were taken
from her column in Fifty Plus magazine.

August
3

Anne
Marie Loder-DeLuise. Born August 3, 1969 St John's,
Newfoundland. An accomplished TV and movie actor, she always
wanted to act. She took local classes in St John’s Newfoundland until she discovered
theatre school. After university she attended the Ryerson Theatre School for Acting
in Toronto. She had her 1st role in Family Pictures in 1993. She Married
actor and director Peter DeLuise and the couple have one son. To
date he most notable roles are Dr. Greene in Fifty Shades of Grey
and Mrs. Briggs on Strange Empire for which she won the Leo Award
from British Columbia.

Greta
Krause
Born August 3, 1907 Vienna, Austria. Died March 30, 1998, Toronto,
Ontario. In 1923 she entered the Vienna Academy of Music and in 1930
she had earned her music teacher diploma. In 1935 she made her
performing debut on harpsichord in Austria. By 1937 she was
appearing on stage in London, England with the Boyd Neel Orchestra.
In 1938 she immigrated to Canada settling 1st in
Hawkesbury, Quebec before relocating to teach a Havergal College in
Toronto. She was soon doing solo appearances on stage and on CBC
Radio. As well as her classical works she performed 20th
century harpsichord music. In 1958 through 1963 she founded the
Toronto Baroque Ensemble. From 1965 through 1986 she and flutist
Robert Aitken formed the Aitken Kraus Duo. In 1939 she had begun to
teach piano and coach voice privately and at the Collegium Musicum
(Toronto). She also taught at Banff and the Shawinigan Summer School
of the Arts as well as at several universities. Confederation of
University Faculty Associations for 'an outstanding contribution to
university teaching' in 1973, was named an 'Outstanding Woman of the
Province of Ontario' in 1975, and received a Toronto Arts Award in
1990 and the Order of Ontario in 1991. She was inducted as a member
of the
Order of
Canada in 1992.Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia.
Online (Accessed August 2014) She received a citation from the
Ontario

August
4

Elizabeth Carmichael Monk. Born August 4, 1898, Montreal, Quebec.
Died December 26, 1980, Montreal, Quebec. In 1923 she earned a
degree in Law from McGill University. She was the 1st
woman to win the faculty’s gold medal for academic excellence.
Unfortunately at the time she graduated women were not allowed to be
called to the Bar in the province of Quebec. She would fight,
cajole, and wait almost 20 years before she was called to the Bar.
In 1934 she was admitted to the Bar in Nova Scotia but this was not
home. On January 10, 1942, Elizabeth was on of four women to be the
1st women called to the Bar in Quebec. The other women
were Constance Garner-short (1910-1959), Suzanne Raymond Filion and
Marcelle Hémond-Lacoste. Elizabeth practiced corporate and became
the 1st Quebec woman appointed as Queen’s Counsel. She
worked with the Montreal Citizen Committee, the Quebec National
Federation of University women and Canadian Federation of University
Women. In 1991 she was the recipient of the Méite du Barreau.
Source: Les pionnières dans le métiers non-traditionnels
(copyright 2004 by Sophie Lecerte and Karine Boisverts) Online.
Accessed June 2013.

August
5

Betty
Oliphant.Born August 5, 1918 London, England. Died July
11, 2004. She is a founder
of the National Ballet School of Canada and founding director 1959-1979. She has
also worked for ballet schools in Sweden, Denmark, and Russia.She is an Officer of the order of Canada as well as many additional awards
from the City of Toronto, France and the 125 Anniversary of Confederation Medal.
She has also published her autobiography.

Carole
Laure.Born
August 5, 1951, Shawinigan, Quebec. She began a career as a teacher
but did not find it to her liking. In 1971 she appeared in her 1st
movie Mon enfance à Montréal and has a distinguished career
not only in French language films and television but also in English
language films. In 1980 she appeared in a dinging role in the
filmmsical Fantastica. Here solo singing career is like her
acting, bilingual with single discs and LP’s in both languages.
(updated Oct 2014)

Terri
Clark.
(real name Terri Lynn Sauson)
Born August 5, 1968 Montreal, Quebec. At
age 9 she began playing guitar. She has always been obsessed with Country Music.
She headed to Nashville in the U.S.A. to follow her dream. She worked and sang
anywhere she could, "paying her dues" as a new singer for seven years. Her
first album went triple platinum in Canada and platinum in the U.S.A. The Canadian Music Association declared her Top New Female Artist in 1995 and
she won album and song of the year in 1996. She loves to rollerblade and collects
guitars.

August
6

Rina
Lasnier.
Born August 6, 1915, St-Grégoire d'Iberville, Quebec. Died May 9,
1997. Rina was a youthful playwright who blossomed into a renowned
poet. She attended the Université de Montréal. Her 1st
published work was a play in 1939. She published her 1st
verses in 1941. Her writings garnered her the Prix David in 1943
and again in 1974. In
1957 she was awarded the Prix Dulemay. In the 1970’s her works were
recognized with the 1971 Molson Prize, the 1973 Prix France-Canada
and in 1974 the Lorne Pierce Medal. In 1987 she was inducted into
the National Order of Quebec.

Mary
diMichele.Born August 6, 1949 Lanciano, Italy.
She immigrated to Toronto, Ontario with her family in 1955. In 1972
she completed her studies at the University of Toronto for her BA
which she followed in 1974 with her MA from the University of
Windsor. She was one of the poets included in the anthology Roman
Candles (1978), and in The New Oxford Book of Canadian Verse
(1982), edited by Margaret Atwood.
Her 1st solo poetry book Tree of August was
published in 1978 would be followed by several more poetry works.
Her 1st novel Terror of Love appeared in 2005. She
is a founding member of the Association of Italian Canadian writers
in 1986. Working as a freelance writer and editor she has worked
with Toronto Live, Poetry Toronto and the Toronto
Star newspaper. She has held posts as writer-in-residence in
Toronto, Regina, Banff, Montreal, Rome, Italy and Bologna, Italy.
Since 1990 she has been professor of creative writing at Concordia
University, Montreal, Quebec. Mary has received numerous awards for
her books of poetry. Including a silver medal in the CBC poetry
competition, duMaurier Award for Poetry, an Air Canada Writing
Award, a Toronto Arts Award and ARC Confederation Poets Award. Source:
the Canadian Encyclopedia Online (Last accessed July 2015)

August
7

Anna
Haining Swan.
Born August 7, 1846, Mill Brook, Nova Scotia. Died August 5, 1888,
Seville, Ohio, U.S.A. Anna was 1 of 13 children who were born all
normal sized babies. However by the time she was 5 years old she was
already 4’8” tall! As an adult she stood 7’6” tall (advertised as
8’) and weighed 350 pounds. At 16 the famous circus entrepreneur
P.T. Barnum brought Anna and her mother to New York City where she
earned $1,000.00 a month at the American Museum on Broadway. She was
partnered with Commodore George Washington Morrison who was 29” tall
and weighed 24 pounds! She was almost killed in a fire at the museum
on July 13, 1865 when unable to escape down the burning stairs she
was too large to escape through a window. It took and block and
tackle with 18 men to help her escape! While travelling to Europe
she met Martin Van Bruen Bates who stood 7’ 22” (that is the
description!) and weighed 470 pounds. The two were married June 17,
1871 in London, England. After a tour of Europe billed as the
World’s largest married couple, they settled in Ohio where they
built a house with 14’ ceilings and furniture to suit their size.
Anne would have two children who where born very large babies and
unfortunately did not live past a few days. Some of her clothes and
other personal articles are displayed at a museum in Tatamgouche,
Nova Scotia, near the town where she was born.
Source: Phyllis R. Blakeley, “SWAN, ANNA HAINING,” in
Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 11, University of
Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, Online (Accessed August 2014) .

Dorothy
Louise Walton. née McKenzie)Born
August 7, 1909 Swift Current, Saskatchewan. Died October 17, 1981. Prior to 1932 she
was a top ranked tennis player in Canada. After 1932 she switched to Badminton
and became one of Canada’s best. After conquering the provincial and national
titles in Canada she captured the All-England title that is equivalent to the
world amateur championship. In 1950 she was voted one of the top 6 women athletes
in Canada in the Canadian Press Poll. She is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall
of Fame.

Elizabeth
Manley. Born August 7, 1965 Belleville, Ontario. Canada's top
female skater in 1987 and 1988 she would win the hearts of her home country
at the 1988 Olympics in Calgary with a silver medal. Her home is Gloucester (Ottawa)
Ontario where they have named an arena after her. She continues to skate
professionally and packs the arenas wherever she goes in Canada. She is known
as the tiny skater with the big heart. (Check out the paper dolls in the
Famous Canadian Women pages).

Deborah Ellis. Born August 7, 1960 Cochrane, Ontario. A self declared loner she started writing at 10 or 11
years old. She has won the Canadian Governor General’s Award,
(2002), the Ruth Swartz Award, Sweden’s Peter Pan Prize, the
University of California’s Middle East Book Award, the Jane Addams
Peace Award and the Vicky Metcalf Award. Her books give western
readers a glimpse into the plight of children in today’s developing
countries. As a teen in high school she joined the peace movement
and is also a longtime feminist . She pledged the earnings from her
Breadwinner Trilogy, published around the world in seventeen
languages, more than half a million dollars, to Street Kids
International and to Women for Women, an organization for Afghan
girls in refugee camps in Pakistan. Book proceeds have also been
shared with UNICEF.

August
8

Irma
Sophia Coucill. Born August 8, 1918. An
artist and editor, she began her career by working as artistic editor for various
Canadian newspapers. She is mainly known for her portraits of Canadian sports
figures. ( 310 completed works), prominent business figures , broadcasters and
physicians. Her portraits number in the hundreds and are displayed in several
Halls of Fame . Her works have been used to produce commemorative coins
and are also considered prominent pieces in several museums.

August
9

Mabel
M. DeWare Born August 9,1926. A politician who served as a Member
of the New Brunswick Legislature, where she held several cabinet positions.
She was appointed to the Canadian Senate in 1990. Several members of her family
are active in the Girl Guide movement. She attended the dedication of the new
Canadian Girl Guide Flag in the halls of Parliament Hill on February 22, 2000.

Micheline
Saint-Marcoux. née Coulombe. Born
August 9 1938 Notre-Dame-de-la-Doré, Quebec . Died February 2, 1985. She was a composer and teacher who played a profound role in the development
of contemporary music in both North America and Europe.

August
10

Edith
Norma Shearer Born August 10, 1900 or 1902 Montreal, Quebec. Died
June 12, 1983. The
parents of Edith Norma and Athole (pronounce Ethel) registered the birth of both
daughters but did not include their first names. Norma would go on to become
an actress of great repute and would always claim to be the youngest of the
sisters. The family moved from Montreal to New York working as performers and
models. It was tough times but eventually Norma would make it to
Hollywood where she would become one of the great stars at MGM. She would
marry the famous studio executive Irving Thalberg. She was the presented with
the third top Actress Academy Award for her work in the film The
Divorcee. She was the second Canadian woman to receive this
award. A good biography is located at:
http://mdle.com/ClassicFilms/guest/shearerb.htm.

August
11

Ellen
Burka. Born August 11,1921. A coach of renown
she has seen her efforts crowned at 26 Canadian Olympic and World Championships
when her pupils have received medals.Her
own daughter Petra Burka was one of her winners. Both family members are members
of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.

Mavis Leslie Gallant.née
de Trafford Young Born August 11, 1922. Died February 18, 2014,
Paris, France. As a youngster she told stories to her paper dolls to
keep herself quietly entertained. A 4 years of age she was sent to
boarding school. Her father died when she was 10 and her mother
remarried and left for New York without her daughter who would
attend a multitude of different schools. She settled in her late
teens in Montreal. Here she married Johnny Gallant an Acadian might
club entertainer who was soon a soldier in Europe. She was a working
“Girl” at the National Film Board and an reporter at the Montreal
Standard newspaper reluctantly hired to replace the men who were off
fighting the war. She refused to write “girly” columns and was soon
a feature writer for the paper. Her marriage disintegrated after the
war and by 1951 she was submitting stories to the New Yorker and off
to Live in Paris. Her early years in Europe had her living in many
short-term situations in the south of France, Switzerland and Spain,
and eventually settled in the Montparnasse district of Paris,
France. This was the home of Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus in
the 1950s, and the site of many student demonstrations in 1968 and
during the labour and student strikes about the job laws in 2006.
She chronicled the uprisings, initially for her personal notebooks,
but eventually agreed to let The New Yorker publish them. (They
appeared in
Paris Notebooks.) She received the Governor’s General
Award in 1981 for her work Home Truths: Selected Canadian
Stories. She would receive numerous honorary degrees, the
Molson Prize from the Canada Council, the Canada-Australia Literary
Prize, a tribute at the International Festival of Authors at
Harbourfront in Toronto, the Blue Metropolis Literary Prize, the
Inaugural Matt Cohen Prize, and the Pen Nabokov Award for career
achievement. In 1981 she was made an officer of the Order of Canada
and in 1993 this was upgraded to Companion of the Order of Canada.
In 1983-1984 she returned to Canada as Writer-in-residence at the
University of Toronto. She was preoccupied with the past in her last
years as she prepared her diaries covering the years from 1952
through 1969 for publication. The diaries are to be published in
Toronto and New York in 2015.In her last decade she was plagued by
ill health and poverty. but close friends rallied to support her
‘valiant spirit, her coruscating wit and her generous capacity for
friendship.’
Source: Sandra Martin. Writer Mavis Gallant dies at age 91, In the
Globe and Mail February 18, 2014 ; The Canadian
encyclopedia. Online (Accessed June 2002)

August
12

Hélène
L. Shingles.Born
August 12,1917.A retired dentist,
Hélène started to volunteer for Meals-on-Wheels to bring food the people who were
ill or older and unable to cook for themselves.She noticed many meals went uneaten.She found out that his was because of dental problems. She
founded a charitable Dental Health Centre to help out.Her dedication and service of others has not gone unnoticed. Dental association,
her home city, her home province have honoured her. He is a Member of the Order
of Canada. This polish immigrant has truly honoured her Canadian citizenship.

Jane
Siberry.Born August 12, 1955 Toronto, Ontario.During
her college years, studying microbiology, she began performing at local coffee
houses.She used her tip money to
fund her 1st album. She has not looked back. She has now formed her
own record label “Sheeba” to produce her records.

August
13

Gwendolyn
Ringwood.née
Phares. Born August 13, 1910 Anatone, Washington U.S.A. Died May
24, 1984 Williams Lake, British Columbia. After graduating from the
University of Alberta she worked as a secretary and later as
registrar at the Banff Centre for the Arts were she wrote her 1st
play The Dragons of Kent in 1935. She also studied
playwriting at the University of North Carolina in the U.S.A. In
1939 she won an award from the Dominion Drama Festival for her
tragic play Still Stands the House. In 1941 she received the
Governor General's Award for outstanding service to Canadian drama.
She was the 1st Canadian playwright to publish a volume of collected
plays in 1982.The theatre in Williams Lake, British Columbia is
named in her honour. The Writers Guild of Alberta presents the
Gwendolyn Ringwood Drama Award. Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia.
Online. Accessed last time 2000)

August
14

Raynell
Andrechuk.
Born August 14, 1944, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. After graduating from
the University of Saskatchewan she studied law at the University and
began her own practice in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan In 1976 she was
appointed a judge of the Saskatchewan Provincial Court after she had
imitated Regina’s 1st family court. From 1977 through
1983 she served as Chancellor to the University of Saskatchewan. In
1985 she was appointed Associated Deputy Minister of Social Services
for Saskatchewan. In 1987 she was High Commissioner to Kenya and
Uganda followed by appointment as ambassador to Somalia and the
Comoros. In 1988 through 1993 she was the Canadian Representative to
the United Nations Human Rights Commission. In 1990 she was
Ambassador to Portugal and Canada’s permanent representative the the
United Nations Environment Programme and the UN Human Settlements
Programme. In 1993 she was appointed to the Senate of Canada.
Source: Raynell Andrechuk (Biography) Parliament of Canada. Online
(Accessed September 2014) .

August
15

Natasha
Henstringe.Born August 15, 1974 Springdale, Newfoundland and Labrador.
To begin her career as a model in Paris, France she had to leave home at the
age of 14. She burst onto
the movie scene in 1995 in the film “Species”.She had 2 roles
in 1992 and 5 roles, including “Species
II” in 1998. “Caracara” is a 1999
release and in 2000 is the “The Whole
Nine Yards”.

Dorothy Muriel Wylie
Born August 15, 1929 Toronto, Ontario. Died August 13, 2016. At 18 when she
was considered too young by most schools she enrolled in St Michael’s
Hospital School of Nursing graduating in 1950. As a working nurse she was
known for being blunt and practical, always to the point. She studied for
her Bachelor of Nursing at New York University in the U.S.A. in 1964 and
earned her Master’s degree at Cornell University in New York State, U.S.A.
in 1969. She was an early proponent of patient-centered care. She favoured
hand on training and projects. In the 1970’s she worked at various
leadership roles at Scarborough Centenary Hospital, Sunnybrook and at the
Registered Nurses Association of Ontario. In 1978 she served as
Vice-president of Nursing at Toronto General, the largest Hospital in the
country at that time. Hel helped to launch the Ontario Provincial Nurse
Administrators Interest Group and also the Journal of Nursing
Administration which eventually was renamed the Canadian Journal of
Nursing. She was elected as the president of the College of Nurses of
Ontario. In 1982 she became a Fellow at Ryerson University, Toronto and
taught at the University of and in 1989 she was associate professor at the
University of Toronto. She retired from teaching in 1994. In 1885 she earned
a second master’s degree in human resources development at American
University in Washington, D.C., U.S.A. In 2001 3 women she mentored founded
the Dorothy Wylie Health Leaders Institute that offers leadership education
for nurses.
Source; Obituary Globe and Mail September 9, 2016.
Suggestion submitted by June Coxon, Ottawa Ontario.

August
16

Penny Martineuk Cooke
Born August 16, 1919. Died 2010 player with All American Girls
Professional Baseball League

August
17

Manitok
Catherine Thompson.
Born August 17, 1955 Coral Harbour, Northwest Territories. Manitok
graduated from the Teacher Education Program in Fort Smith in 1977
and went on to teach in schools in Coral Harbour, Repulse Bay and
Yellowknife until 1983. She remained in the education field for the
next 12 years, holding the positions of Coordinator of Interpreter
Services with the Stanton Yellowknife Hospital, Language Consultant,
Inuktitut Programs Specialist and high school teacher. Manitok was
also an active community volunteer, organizing the inaugural
Keewatin Arts and Crafts Festival, music festivals, Rankin Inlet’s
Hamlet Days and was a member of the Concerned Citizens against Drug
and Alcohol Abuse. She also was a volunteer pastor for a small
church in Repulse Bay. In recognition for her civic involvement she
received the Volunteer Award for the Hamlet of Rankin Inlet. In
1994, she entered politics at the municipal level as a Counselor for
Rankin Inlet and was appointed to the Nunavut Social Development
Committee. She was 1st elected to the Northwest Territories'
Legislature for the riding of Aivilik in a by-election on May 8,
1995, and re-elected in October of the same year. While holding the
cabinet portfolios of Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs
and Minister responsible for the Women's Directorate she was a
member of the Standing Committee on Finance, the Standing Committee
on Agencies, Boards and Commissions and the Special Committee on
Housing. On
February 15, 1999,
the 1st election for the new territory, she won a seat in
the Nunavut Legislature for the Rankin Inlet South/Whale Cove
riding.
Manitok served as Nunavut’s 1st woman cabinet minister as
Minister responsible for Public Works and Services
and Minister responsible for the Nunavut Housing Corporation.
In 2001 she was named minister of Community Government and
Transportation and Minister responsible for Sport Nunavut. .
Retiring from territorial politics in 2004 she ran as an independent
candidate in the federal Canadian election in 2004 where she
finished in 2nd place. Manitok now works as an official
with the territorial Nunavut government. She is married to Tom
Thompson and the couple have 2 children.

August
18

Joan
M. Boggs.
Born August 18,1946. When she relaxes she goes hiking and canoeing or can be found gardening.
When she goes to work she is a Senior Scientist at the hospital for Sick Children
and a professor at the University of Toronto. Dr. Boggs is the author/co-author
of more than 85 papers which have appeared in various scientific journals. You
will find her listed in the Canadian Who's Who at your local library.

August
19

Susan
Jacks. née Pesklevits. Born
August 19, 1948 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.Susan and her
husband Terry
formed a popular 1970’s singing group called “The Poppy Family”. Together they
produced several albums of music.

She would go on to have a single
performer career in the 1980's. She moved to Nashville to continue her career
in music but ended up turning to a career in publishing. She is currently
executive Vice President of a successful telecommunications firm in Nashville.

August
20

Cynthia Cindy
Nicholas.Born August 20, 1957 Toronto, Ontario. Died
May 19, 2016, Scarborough, Ontario. At 16 years old
Cindy bettered the record for swimming Lake Ontario. In 1975 she swam the English
Channel in record-breaking time. She would go on to swim the Channel 18 more times
including 5 two-way trips! Her honorary title was Queen of the Channel.She is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. (2017)

Reproduced with permission

August
21

Carrie-Anne
Moss. Born August 21, 1970 Vancouver, British
Columbia. While modeling in Europe she obtained a movie role in a film
being done in Spain. This
actress is just beginning her career with appearances in TV and movies since 1991.She was in the TV series “Dark Justice”
(19910, “Matrix” (1993). “Models Inc.” (1994) and F/X
the Series (1996).

Josée
Chouinard.Born
August 21,1969.She was 3 times Canadian figure
skating champion.She turned professional
n 1994 and won the Canadian Professional Championships that same year and again
in 1997.She is an ambassador for
the Heart & Stroke Foundation.She married Jean-Michel Bombardier in 1997.

August
22

Patricia
Hy-Boulais.Born August 22, 1965 Phnom Penh, Kampuchea.This tennis player
began her career in Honk Kong before moving to Canada. Canadian Champion from
1992 through 1999. She has also represented Canada at two Olympic games.

August
23

Elizabeth Minnie Betty
Lambert. née Lee. Born
August 23, 1933 Calgary, Alberta. Died November 4,
1983. This playwright wrote some
70 works for adults and children to watch and listen to on radio, TV, and stage.She also wrote novels.

Jean
Bruce Dawson. née Anderson. Born August 23,1912. Died 1999. She
studied as a nurse when the depression intervened with her plans to become a doctor.
Her marriage to Douglas Dawson would lead to a family of four children and a relationship
of some 60 years. While traveling in the tropics she gained an interest
in painting. At 74 years she earned her BA in Fine Arts. She enjoyed her
art but seldom showed her work. She continued her humanitarian efforts by
working for Meals on Wheels in her home community.

August
24

Linda
Hutcheon.Born August 24, 1947 Toronto, Ontario. She is an author, editor and a critic of art and literature
which she combines with being a professor at the University of Toronto.Among her published books is a study of contemporary Canadian fiction.

August
25

Ruby
Keeler.Born August 25,
1909 Halifax, Nova
Scotia. Died
February 28, 1993. A former speakeasy dancer and Broadway lead, she married musical
star Al Jolson in 1928. After several films she retired from the screen in 1941.
She charmed audiences again in 1971 with a return to Broadway in the musical "No
No Nanette". She always contended that she had a horrible singing voice,
could not act, and that her dancing skills were not that good either. Even so
she was popular on screen.

Marie
Saint Pierre.Born August 25,1961.Her enjoyment of
designing cloths has lead her to establishing her own company Marie Saint Pierre
Design Inc. in 1987. Within a few years her work won recognition and awards from
the industry including Vidal-Sasson-sponsored Buyer’s Designer of the Year in
1995. She has been subject of numerous newspaper and TV interviews and has been
cited as “Canada’s most promising designer” (Globe and Mail). Watch the labels
of clothing you buy…it might just be from…

August
26

Alice
Jones.Born August 26, 1853 Halifax, Nova Scotia. Died February 27, 1933. This
author developed the “new woman” theme in her novels.She also wrote shot stories and travel articles for magazines.She used the pen name of Alix John for one of her novels.In 1903 she was described as one of Canada’s leading women novelists.

Alice
Evelyn Wilson.Born August 26, 1881 Coburg, Ontario. Died April 15, 1964. A
paleontologist who worked at the Geological Survey of Canada, where she described
fossils in papers and books.She
lectured and traveled to bring geology to the public, especially children. In
1937 she was the 1st woman to be elected a fellow of the Royal Society
of Canada.

August
27

Maud
Allan (real name Ulla Maude Durant)
Born August 27, 1873 Toronto, Ontario. Died October 7, 1956. A true pioneer of modern dance.

She was educated in
the U.S.A., Germany and England but her career would take her around the world. Her
autobiography was published in 1908, "My life and dancing."

Juliette Augustina Sysak Cavazzi.née
Sysak. Born August 27, 1926, St Vital, Manitoba As a youngster in
Winnipeg Juliette sang at the Ukrainian Hall and at amateur talent
shows. When she was just a teenager her family relocated to
Vancouver. At 13 she was singing at the Hotel Vancouver making more
money than her father earned at his job as a cook for the Canadian
Pacific Railway. She was appearing on CBC radio at 15 and was
headed to Toronto to appear on TV’s Holiday Ranch. Known as
Juliette, this singer and entertainer used only her first name on
stage. She married manager Tony Cavazzi. She had regular appearances
on the Billy O’Connor CBC TV late show. By 1956 she had her own
national TV program where she was known as “Our pet, Juliette”. The
show was third in the popularity rating only behind Hockey Night in
Canada and CBC National News! Two of her favourite guests were Tony
Bennett and Jack Jones. From 1969 through 1971 she hosted a day show
called ‘After Noon’ and from 1973 through 1975 she hosted ‘Juliette
and Friends’. She also had a successful recording career which
included 5 LP 9Long Playing records) albums. In 1975 she was
appointed a member of the Order of Canada. In 1999 she was inducted
into Canada’s Walk of Fame. In 1994 She became a member of the
British Columbia Entertainment Hall of Fame. She was often
criticized for her choice of music, she hair style and the clothing
she wore. However she is hailed as a trailblazer for female
entertainers who wish to control their own image and Career.
Sources: John Einarson. ‘Juliette’ in Manitoba Music Museum .
(accessed August 2014 : The Canadian Encyclopedia Online
(Accessed August 2014)

Sarah
Chalke.
Born August 27, 1976 Ottawa, Ontario. Beginning with children's television shows, Sarah got her break in
1996 when she became Becky # 2 on Roseanne, the popular television show
about the Connor family . She has appeared in movies and television, including
Ernest Goes to School; Beyond Obsession; Dead Man's Gun; and Neon
Rider. When not acting Sarah can be found on the ski slopes where she is a
qualified instructor.

August
28

Irene
MarySpry.
née Biss.Born August 28, 1907 Standerton, Transvaal,
South Africa. Died December 16,
1998.
The works of this historian on the Palliser Expedition of 1857-1860 are
definitive studies.She represented
the Federated Women’s Institutes of Canada at the Associated Country Women from
1954-to 1967 and was executive chairman 1959 to 1965.She was a fervent supporter of Canada and of a social democratic
approach to public policy.She was
named an Officer in the Order of Canada in 1993.Failing eyesight did not kept her from almost daily studies at the
National Archives of Canada where she could be seen using a large magnifying
glass in order to read documents.

Shania Twain. née
Eileen Regina Edwards. Born August 28, 1965 Windsor, Ontario. .She took the name
of her step father and went through school as Eileen Twain in
Timmons, Ontario. She enjoyed music and her family recognized her
talent when she was young. So did the CBC who had her appear at 13
on the popular Tommy Hunter Show. When she was 21 her parents were
killed in an auto accident and she took on the responsibility for
her brothers and sisters by working in a lodge in Huntsville,
Ontario where she had a chance to perform as part of her work. In
1990 when she signed her first recording contract with Mercury
Nashville Records she changed her first name to Shania, which is
from the aboriginal Ojibwa language , meaning 'I'm on my way'. She
was indeed! Her 1995 album, The Woman in me sold 12 million copies
and her 1998 release Come on over produced 8 world wide single
hits. Her singing and her original writings of songs have won Grammy
Awards, Juno Awards, Canadian and American Country Music Awards and
World Music Awards. In 2001 she took time from her busy career to
give birth to a son and in 2003 returned to touring and performing
to her adoring fans. In 2004 she and her husband purchased a ranch
in New Zealand as a get away from their home in Europe. . She has
been honoured in her home town of Timmins with a museum dedicated to
her life and career.

August
29

Amanda
Meta Marshall.Born August 29, 1972 Toronto, Ontario.Amanda began performing
when she was just 16 years old.Her
powerful voice landed her a contract with Columbia Records in New York City but
it was Sony Music Canada that released her first album in 1995. Her song “This
could take all night” was part of the sound track of the movie Tin Cup.She has also had a strong endorsement from Elton John.

Lise
Payette. Born August 29, 1931 Montreal, Quebe. In the 1960's
she hosted a popular Radio Canada morning program "Place aux Femmes".
She turned politician and joined the "Parti Quebecois". in 1976 she
was elected to the Quebec Provincial legislature where she was appointed
provincial Minister of Consumer Affairs. She was not re-elected in the 1980 election
and her political career ended.

August
30

August
31

Helen
Irene Battle.Born
August 31, 1903,London, Ontario. Died June 17, 1994, London,
Ontario. She earned her BA at the University of Western Ontario in
1923.One of the first women to enter the male dominated field of
zoology. she earned her PhD at the University Of Toronto in 1929
and was the 1st
woman in Canada to earn a PhD in marine biology.
She pioneered the use of fertilized fish eggs to study the effects
of carcinogenic substances on development. The penetrating insights
of her published papers were often accompanied with detailed pen and
ink drawings done by her own hand. In 1949 she became a full
professor. She always stated that her 1st love was
teaching and many of her students visited their old professor years
after their graduation. In 1961, she co-founded the Canadian
Society of Zoologists and became its President in 1962-1963.In 1967
she was presented with the Canada Centennial medal. In
the 1970’s Battle took on the role of Associate Editor of the
Canadian Journal of Zoology. She did her research for the
National Fisheries Research Board, the Ohio State Fisheries Lab, the
Atlantic Biological Station in St. Andrews, N.B., and the Marine
Biological Lab in Plymouth, England. In 1975 she was selected by the
National Museum of Natural Sciences in Ottawa as one of 19
outstanding women scientists in Canada and was represented in a
travelling exhibit to mark International Women's Year. In
1977 Prof. Battle was the 1st woman to be awarded the F. E. J. Fry medal from the Canadian Society of
Zoologists and within a few weeks she received the first J. C. B.
Grant award from the Canadian Association of Anatomists.
Many student awards and a memorial
lecture are named in her honour at the University of Western
Ontario. Sources: Canadian
Encyclopedia Online. (accessed June 2010; University of Western
Ontario, A part of our History: Helen Irene Battle.
www.uwo.ca (accessed July 2015)